


Trekking into the Unknown

by General_Guanaco



Category: Trekking into the Unknown
Genre: Action/Adventure, Based On a D&D Game, Blood, Dragonborn (D&D), Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Gen, Original Fiction, Originally Posted on Wattpad, Other, POV Third Person, Trekking into the unknown - Freeform, original - Freeform, teen, young adult
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 04:03:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13356096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/General_Guanaco/pseuds/General_Guanaco
Summary: Finding a note slipped into his pocket Seahand the Half-elf finds himself in a tavern with a long-lost friend. But they do not know of the adventure that lies ahead...





	1. The Meeting

Seahand was waiting in _"The Flying Pig"_ in Riverbend. _"The Flying Pig"_ was a local tavern with a hearty feel to it. On this day, Seahand was with his friend Parmelk the Cleric. Seahand was a half-elf and had met Parmelk when the cleric was near-death and leaned up against a tree. Around Parmelk were the dead bodies of his victims. There were bits of the attackers everywhere. Parmelk was a dark-skinned man with a wooden mask. He always carried a sword and a bottle of wine. He wore a dark coloured cloak and on the particular day these two met Parmelk was half-dead. So Seahand brought out his bandages and patched up Parmelk's wounds. Even though he had put up a fight, twenty-five armoured thugs had proved to be too much even for Parmelk. After Seahand had covered up the wounds, Parmelk regained consciousness and used healing magic for the rest. After that, the cleric thanked Seahand and they parted ways. Neither knew where each other had disappeared to until now.

"Seahand?"

Parmelk broke the silence.

"What do you make of the letter ?"

To give context, a few weeks ago someone had snuck a letter in the pockets of the two men which said,

_"You have been summoned to "The Flying Pig" in Riverbend on the twelfth day of the fifth month. You are to be congratulated for your achievements and your service! "_

And yes, that was all it said but they both believed that they were to have a feast, and neither of them would pass that up, so yes both of them did go and the half-elf and the cleric were pleasantly reunited.

"I don't know yet"

Seahand replied.

" But something's going on. Something big..."

_________________________________

  
It was a couple hours later, in the late morning, that Seahand's suspicions were confirmed. The Parmelk and Seahand saw Four people swiftly walk into the tavern. Seahand knew that they had something to do with this. In future when telling this story he would make up an interesting tale about their mysterious aura, but the truth was that they really stood out.

 One of them was a Goliath Barbarian, in simple words a giant. Next to him was a gnome. Yes, a gnome, it seemed as if he was trying to seem intimidating but his height didn't help. Next came a cloaked figure, and after that an elf. Seahand bet no one else in the room realized it but him. He could feel it though. There was no other word for it. The elf looked like he got the feeling too. He walked right to their table and sat, his group followed him. Taking a swig from his bottle of wine Seahand asked him with a raised eyebrow,

"And you are?"

Ignoring the question the elf smiled and said,

"You got a letter didn't you?"

The two silently nodded.

"Are you the ones who summoned us?"

Asked Seahand. Shaking his head the elf replied

" No, but we have been summoned too"

"Uh..."

All of them looked up to see the giant talking,

"Who you are? Me Thokk"

Nodding Seahand introduced himself and his friend

"I'm Seahand and this is my friend Parmelk"

Parmelk did a little wave,

"And you are?..."

Seahand ask. The elf replies with that smile of his.

"My name is Skylas I'm an elf, these are my companions Thokk the Giant, Taete the wizard and Rāen the half-dragon sorcerer "

Seahand peered under the hood. Rāen was indeed half-dragon, green scales covered him and his eyes were a piercing yellow. They both nodded at each other as if acknowledging each other's power.

"Well!!"

Says the short Wizard,

"Now that we know each other does anyone know our summoner?"

He was answered by shaking heads.

"Well"

Said the wizard again

"That's just wonderful"


	2. The Host

After the two groups got comfortable with each other they all started talking. Seahand learnt a lot about the other group. Like how Taete the gnome and Thokk the giant were brothers. They weren't related, of course, the gnome's parents found the giant in the woods and were overwhelmed by the cuteness of the baby, which admittedly Seahand didn't see. Even though Thokk was already bigger than them they took him home to their child. Taete, being an only child, was delighted. And years down the line they now have a stronger bond than any real brothers could ever dream of. The half-dragon Rāen wasn't exactly open but Seahand managed to find out that his race was called the Fatuiann, and most of them lived in a city high up in the mountains called Yepaun-Ooru, which roughly translated to "Strong Building". Seahand also managed to find out that he was a battlemage. The elf was a man around the age of eighty. Still very young to the elves, he was an expert marksman. And by the sounds of it, he never misses what he aims at. Unlike most elven archers he used a crossbow, which surprised Seahand. Elves were usually much more elegant with their fighting. When he confronted the elf with this Skylas laughed and said,

"I was raised in a Nord(human) village near here. And when I was old enough to make my own decisions I decided to go and find my people. Learn my real culture. That's when I learned how to shoot better. The elves didn't really mind"

After a pause, he smiled again and said,

"And who says the crossbow isn't elegant?"

And they just traded stories until night.  
___________________________________

In the time they were exchanging stories the merged group paid for one room since they didn't have the money for two. No one had made money this week, life was tough for a sword for hire. In the room, Seahand looked at his reflection. Even though he was only half-elf he didn't look that different from any full elf. He had black hair and green eyes. To get ready for the meeting he had his finest armour on. Light steel armour and a dark green cloak so he could fade into the darkness. Seahand was quite stealthy, even with armour on he was undetectable. Parmelk and Seahand also learnt that the other four also had not met up until a week ago, but after they worked out that they were going to the same destination they merged groups. A week later they arrived at their destination, _The Flying Pig_ , where they had just met Seahand and Parmelk. And by the looks of things they were all now part of one big group.

They moved their things to the room. The giant and the gnome would stay in the stables. Thokk because he was too big even to go up the stairs and the Taete because he wanted to keep his little brother company. Yes, the gnome was, in fact, the older sibling. The giant was big enough to get through the doorway though, so he was allowed to have a couple of drinks and join in on the conversation.

It was three hours from midnight when a hooded man walked into the tavern and looked around the room until he found the merry band. He walked over to the table and sat, the group waited but he didn't say anything so raising his eyebrow Skylas said,

" Are you the man who summoned us?"

Smiling the hooded man replied

"Why yes, I am"

Putting on a smile of his own Taete asked,

"And why, may I ask did you summon us?"

Pulling back his hood the man said,

"I have a quest for all of you. All of you. If you're interested?"

His face which they could now see was a middle-aged one. Probably around in his fifties. He had a shaggy beard and his once brown hair was streaked with grey. He took off his cloak and it was then that they realised how short he was. He wasn't as small as a dwarf mind you but for human standards? Yes, he was small. Around five foot five.

"You finished staring ?"

Looking up Seahand saw that the man was looking at him so he said,

"You're pretty short for a Nord"

Grunting the man continued,

" I'm a ranger. It's better that we're short."

"A ranger?"

The gnome piped up. Looking down for once the ranger said,

" Yes, and you better listen close or I'll cut your ear off faster than you can say "Kryteria". Are we listening? Good. My name is William. The invitations you all have were sent by my superior."

Seahand sipped some of the drink he bought and while choosing his words carefully said,

"I think me and my friends here would like an explanation if you wouldn't mind of course..."

The Ranger nodded

"Well, I'll be honest with you, I just got orders to assemble you. I don't know what you're supposed to do. But starting now you are a Company. My superior will contact you when you are ready. For now, do what you do, find trouble. We'll be watching..."

They all looked at each other, The Half Elf, The Cleric, The Giant, The Gnome, The Elf and The Half-Dragon. They knew they didn't need to become a group there and then they could have walked off. But something made the "Company" stay together. They accepted the fact that they were a "Company" now, and even though they were put together against their will, they were fine with it. Seahand went to talk to the ranger but he was gone. They all looked around trying to spot him but he was good at his job and had already disappeared from prying eyes. The group was silent for a long time.


	3. Baxter and Holly

After the ranger's sudden disappearance the new party decided to have some shut-eye, they all went their rooms and the gnome and the giant went to the stables to sleep.

_______________________________

Seahand awakened in the cheap and creaky room. His armour was in the corner with his long-sword. He got up and re-ran the events of yesterday night. Seahand was surprised to realize that he did not hate the plan of banding up with a bunch of strangers he met yesterday. Though they were outlandish and odd, they seemed like good people. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to stay with them for a little while.

After looking out the window Seahand decided to go for a walk. He dressed in his tunic and went outside. Feeling like he still wasn't quite awake Seahand decided to wash his face so he headed to the stables. He found the barrel, filled with water, fairly quickly. The ice-cold water woke him up in a second. He shook his hair out of the way and dried his face with the tunic.

"Are you done?"

Seahand whirled around to see nobody there. He looked down and finally saw who was talking, it was the gnome. Smiling Seahand said,

"Sorry didn't see you there Taete"

Grunting Taete replies,

"Happens a lot to me"

Dipping his hands into the water the gnome washed his face. Now that it was light Seahand got a good look at him. He was wearing a gnome size tunic, probably order made, he wasn't fat and muscular like a dwarf but neither skinny and green like a goblin.

"Hey half-elf"

Seahand looked up (down) to see Taete talking to him.

"I'm going for a walk. Do you want to come along?"

Guessing this was the way that Taete showed he was trying to befriend him, Seahand agreed and walked into the town with the small wizard.

Riverbend was a fine town. It was already busy early in the morning, so Seahand let Taete lead. He didn't want to lose sight of him. He looked around the market. Blacksmiths were hammering glowing metal, people shouting over one another making it impossible to understand any of them, Taete getting dragged into a dark alleyway... At this moment Seahand wondered how in the world Taete had survived so long. Seahand ran across the market to the alley, pushing people out of the way. At one point jumping over a haystack and earning a strange look from the crowd. He ran around the bend that Taete got dragged around to see the two men had cornered him, hearing the commotion the thugs turned around. The men were the opposite of each other. One was skinny and tall with a tattoo that went from his face to the fingertips of his right arm and the other was a short fat man with an eye-patch that was probably just for show. But the one thing that they had in common was the swords hanging at their waists. Smiling and forgetting about the gnome they drew their swords and slowly started to circle Seahand.

"Well well well

Said the short fat one,

"Looks like some little shit trie'n to be a hero"

The thugs both cackled.

"Baxter en 'olly never leave their victims alive"

Piped the skinny twig pretending to slit his throat. So that's who they were. Baxter and Holly. Wanted in three cities but to the half-elf not much of a threat. It was true that they never left their victims alive but they had never threatened anyone who could actually hurt them. A smile curling on his lips Seahand talks loud enough so both of the thugs could hear,

"Walk away men. Don't want to hurt anyone today"

To be honest Seahand wanted to do the opposite. He loved a good fight. People thought it was from his human side. Baxter and Holly started to lose their cheery mood.

"Get em!!"

Suddenly ten thugs jumped from the shadows of the surrounding alley. Seahand cursed himself for his stupidity, of course, they were not alone. But it was too late to regret his mistake now. A thug lunged at him with a short sword but with his elf reflexes Seahand caught the thug's sword arm and turned into the thug stabbing him with his elbow. As the first thug went down Seahand took his short sword off him. Five thugs charged at Seahand while the other four went for Taete. Seahand dodged and parried their blows while looking for spots where he could thrust the short sword through. One of the thugs stumbled after his sword got blocked, at that moment Seahand stabbed his sword into the thug's rib and watched it come out the other side with a squirt of blood. Screaming at the loss of his comrade another thug charged at the half-elf. Holding his sword up in hopes to bring it down on Seahand's head. That was his last mistake. Leaving the "borrowed" shortsword in the dead man Seahand took the dead man's longer and sharper sword and swung it across the charging thug's stomach. Guts and blood sprayed him and the man forgetting his charge tried to hold in his gut and died with his hands in his stomach. Watching the violent death of their friends the rest of the men attacking grew pale and scrambled away. Seahand faced the way he last saw Taete just in time to see him burn the last of his opponents with a roaring Fire that came out of his staff. Taete seeing Seahand staring grimly smiles.

"They don't call me a wizard for nothing Seahand, What use am I if I don't use magic?"

They both clean up at the back of the tavern supervised by a terrified tavern-keeper. They then went to the tavern's main room to find their gang to be sitting at yesterday's table.

"Where were you people?"

Asks Parmelk raising an eyebrow. Pulling up a chair the two explain what happened in the alley and the fight.

"Well that must have been interesting"

Parmelk said at the end of the story.  
Seahand smiled and asked about the difference in Taete and Parmelk's magic.

"We use a different kind of magic"

Parmelk explains,

"Taete uses Varita Magic and I use Tome Magic"

Picking up the story Taete explains,

"Varita Magic comes from far north. It is one of the oldest kinds of magic"

"And Tome Magic"

Taking back the story,

"Is even older than Varita magic. So old that the origins are mostly unknown. It's also more difficult to explain since well it's magic."

Rāen the half-dragon coughed earning the attention of everyone there.

"Something you would like to add?"

Seahand said raising an eyebrow.  
Rāen turned to Seahand and his smile widened,

"What about _**my**_ magic half-elf?"

Seahand suddenly remembered the fact that Rāen was a mage.

"You didn't seem the talkative sort"

Seahand said with a smile of his own.

"He's usually not this talkative"

Taete exclaims,

"But I have noticed him smiling every-time someone discusses magic"

"I use Dame magic"

They turn back to Rāenn.

"Dame Magic in your language would mean Battle Magic. All I need to do is say a word. But training for it takes many years and much energy, not many people can practice the art. Even few are men, only a handful have succeeded"

He said this with little to no emotion but you could hear the boastfulness in his voice. Seahand wanted to know the half-dragon more so he asked,

"Could we get an example?"

He smiled and started walking towards the stairs that lead to his room. Seahand thought he failed but then without turning, Rāen said,

"Everyone pack your things. I've had enough of this tavern."


	4. Clean out the Cave

The group packed their things and then threw them in Thokk's bag which could fit all of the bags with ease. They decided not to get any horses since they didn't have much to spend. The giant attracted some attention but nobody decided to quarrel with the group. 

As they were about to leave the town a man in a grey robe came running and shouting at them. Like the ranger said, it seems they were remarkably good at finding trouble. They all stopped walking and waited for him to catch up with them. Skylas didn't mean to insult him or anything but he was a very slow runner, even Taete could run faster and he's a gnome.

The slow runner finally caught up with the group. As they waited for him to catch his breath they got a good look at him. He seemed like a wealthy man, not fat but not bulky either. He was the kind of man when you look at him and know that he has never been in any kind of action. The man finally gulped down enough air for him to speak.

"I beg your pardon *gasp* my good men..*wheeze* but you wouldn't happen to be the Baxter and Holly gang *gasp* would you?..."

Before any of them could tell him the news of the late group Taete slipped in front of everyone and said, 

"Why yes we are! I'm Baxter"

Pointing at himself 

"And he's Holly"

pointing at the scowling elf.

"I'm going to kill him later" decided Skylas.

"Oh wonderful!"

Exclaims the man who by now had caught his breath.

"I have an offer for you and your gang" 

He looks at the "gang" to see if they were following. Satisfied he continued,

"I'm the town Warden. I think you see how I'm ill-equipped for a fight and well... there are these Kobolds who are causing trouble near the town could you be ever so kind to clean out their hall?"

By clean out he obviously meant butcher every living thing in the Kobold hall. It wasn't like this was a problem for anyone, Kobolds are a humanoid Lizard creature. Kobolds are the result of dark magic. They were originally made to be a warrior race to fight humans in a war centuries ago. 

"We accept"

Answers the wizard,

"For a fair award of course"

Steps in the Elf. Seahand couldn't help but think this is the most un-elvish elf he had ever met.

"Of course, of course!!"

The Warden replies,

"We will reward you fairly and extra if you come back with the leader's head"

They all decided to do this particular bounty because they really needed that money and no one wanted to quarrel the royal guards by admitting Seahand and Taete killed the real gang.  
___________________________  
They walked north towards the Kolbold hall. While walking they discussed what threats they would face. Parmelk thought that the Kobolds would have pets like guard dogs, bigger than wolves but Skylas later told us that that could only be a werewolf and they stick to their kind and don't take orders from lower creatures, Taete pointed out that a higher intelligence could be controlling them, they decided to keep that in mind as it was a plausible theory.  
Little did they know how right he was...  
_________________________

The so-called "gang" reached the Kobold hall entrance at night. It was summer so the night while being cooler than the day, was still quite hot. There are some places in which the weather is different depending on the town but they were on the continent of Kryteria. There is a Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring. 

"I'm going to scout around the entrance"

Whispered Skylas,

"Just wait here till I come back"

And with that he ran into the trees. Seahand never had experienced the true magic-like skills of the elf. Being a half-blood he had the magic of being an elf, but without anyone to train him Seahand was denied of the agility of the elves. Here for the first time, he could see why a person could get surrounded by an army of elves and not realize it. Even with their trained eyes, the group struggled to keep up with the elf who they knew was there. After a while, they lost track of him and sat down. And so they waited.  
____________________________

Somebody was shaking Seahand. Skylas had returned from his scouting.

"There are many Kolbolds, I know exactly where they are so I will lead and signal you when we approach them"

And with that he urged the group to follow him. They all crouched down and snuck near the entrance. Skylas had already dispatched the two guards so they entered the hall. Though looking rough on the outside the inside of the hall was paved with dwarven stone. It was strong and gleamed with a beautiful black colour. They walked down the hall finding a few more friends Skylas made. The group got to the first room, they ducked behind the door frame. The giant had nothing to do but stand in the shadows and hopefully not get spotted. Seahand risked a peek and saw what the room looked like. It had doors leading to different rooms but he could sense the door that they needed to go through. No doubt there were more doors behind these three but he trusted his elf senses. Seahand knew if his failed Skylas's would definitely succeed. 

"We have to be quiet. Don't. Make. A. Sound."

And with that Skylas skillfully slipped into the room and at the same time kicked a pebble that went skittering across the floor and hit an old pot with a loud "ping!"

"Me and my big mouth..."

Skylas mutters. The group hear battle-cries and alarmed voices to look up and see the Kolbolds attacking. The first to reach them was the first to die. Skylas whipped out a dagger from his belt and with terrifying speed and ripped through the Kobold with a violent display of blood. The Kobold died with a shocked look on its face. Then they all charged in. This was the first time Seahand got to see the gear that was going to rip these animals to shreds.  
Thokk had a shining two-sided steel hammer and a shield which he used to bash in a skull of a Kobold, while Taete thrust his staff forward sending a shockwave into the opponent wizard. The half-dragon slid across the room and muttering a few words and sent firey streaks into his opponent. But as he turned the corpse pulled at his cloak overbalancing him. Seahand was about to rescue him but Skylas's crossbow bolt flew into the head of the attacking Kobold and carrying the already dead body across the room. Seahand turned to his left to see Parmelk get cut in the arm. The Cleric cried out but quickly healed his wound. Snarling he raises his sword and suddenly the sword was glowing with power. He brings it down on the ground sending a shockwave that dispatched three Kolbolds. Suddenly looking drained he sways a little but then regains his balance. Of course, the little sway is all the enemy needs as a chance, a Kobold charges at him with a battle-cry and brings it's sword down on Parmelk but the half-elf didn't let it reach the target. The Kobold's eyes widen as he realizes his mistake but it is too late. Seahand whirled around with speed almost matching Skylas and cut the Kobold in half.  
He looked up to see the whole gang looking at him.

"What?"

The others just grin as Taete said,

"Good teamwork eh?"

Seahand returned the smile and nodded at him.

"The thing we need is this way"

Skylas says as he opened the door that Seahand had predicted he would open.

"What thing we need?

Parmelk exclaims.

" I thought we were here to just clear out the cave"

Thokk and Taete nod in agreement. The half-dragon Rāen stayed quiet.

"I'm afraid"

Skylas answers.

" That there is something much more dangerous in these halls"  
_______________________________

They were a great team. They hacked and slashed the way through the Kobold hall. As proof of clearing out the hall, they threw twelve Kobold heads, including the leader's, into Thokk's gigantic bag. The party got to a room where finally there was only one door. Seahand went to open it but the moment he touched the handle he recoiled. The door handle was frozen. It shouldn't have been possible. It was summer and the hall was the same temperature as outside but suddenly this room... Why? He opened the door carefully. It creaked open to reveal an older heaver door made of a material that was unrecognizable apart from the wood. 

"Get out of Thokk way"

Thokk shouts as he brings his hammer back and running towards the door and swings. There is a satisfying clank as the doors swing open. A cold mist bellows out of the room surrounding them. The mist that had been in the room for hundreds of years cleared out to reveal a horse.

"Little pony!!" 

Thokk exclaims as he goes to pet it.

"THOKK NO!!"

But it was too late. The horse stood upon its hind legs and let out a neigh. But then it turned into something else. As the neigh turned into a growl and the growl turned into an ear-piercing roar the "horse" kicked Thokk with its front legs making him fly into the wall with a crunch. Taete screams and goes to check on him but the others were focused on the horse. It shook it's head and threw it's head up and grew. No, not just growing, the soft skin turned into hardened scales, the brown eyes turned ice blue and the mane melted into the ice white scales. Everyone including Skylas took a step back for standing there with claws of sharpness and breath of ice. It was a dragon.


	5. The Ice Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party have run into one of the most dangerous beings in the world. A dragon. An unexpected turn of events has them face to face with an ice dragon...

It was an Ice Dragon. Thokk finally recovering from the blow he took and looked up in anger. With a battle- cry, he charged at the dragon. The scales near the throat glowed a bright blue. Thokk realized in the nick of time what was about to happen. He brought up his shield as the dragon released a blue streak of fire at Thokk. The blue flames hit the shield but thankfully had little effect on Thokk. Angered by the danger his "little" brother was put in Taete launched himself at the dragon, staff in hand. He vaulted up using his staff and came face to face with the dragon. He let out a yell as he struck the dragon straight in the face. The dragon staggered. **_Staggered._** As Taete touched the floor the group all jumped in to help but at that moment the dragon let out a deafening roar and then unbelievably r. It was a gruesome process, you could hear the bones popping and the flesh stretching. And even though it was obvious it hurt you could see the look of smugness in the eyes of the dragon as it grew twice the size it was. It let out a triumphant roar as it threw it's head back.

"Well"

Said Taete

"That makes the job a little harder"

Seahand was the first to make a move. He rushed towards the dragons neck dive rolling when he saw it's throat light up. The blue flames missed him by inches. He rolled up and swung his longsword at the dragon's neck. It connected but all he got for a reward was the recoil as the sword bounced helplessly off the dragon's scales. It was too late to dodge it when Seahand saw the tail coming his way. He tried to block it with the sword there was a loud clash as Seahand was thrown off his feet, and the sword broken in half lay next to him.

By then the others had come into the battle. The dragon let its blue flames loose at Taete and Thokk. Taete skillfully blocked it with a ward. But even with his powers, it was hard to stand against a dragon's might. The ward started cracking and peeling away. Sweat rolled down Taete's face. To Taete's relief, Thokk chose that moment to throw his shield straight into the dragon's face. It hit it's mark with a loud clang, sending the dragon reeling back bellowing with anger. Just at that moment, Seahand heard the clang of a crossbow and before he knew it the dragon was staggering to the other side with a crossbow bolt in its eye. Apparently, Skylas had been aiming at the dragon's eye from the start of the fight and was waiting for the right moment to shoot. The dragon crashed into the wall and tried to recover. But Parmelk and the half-dragon we're having none of it. Using his powers Parmelk sent a streak of light into the half-dragon. Rāen lit up and literally glowed with power. The Ice Dragon turned it's focus on them but it was too late. The half-dragon's throat lit up with an orange glow as he let out a stream of fire that hit the dragon in the side. It let out a roar and charged at the two attackers. The half-dragon slid out of the way with ease but Parmelk had a little trouble. He was clipped on the shoulder trying to dodge the giant lizard. Parmelk went spinning across the room where he stops, quite unconscious next to Seahand. The dragon seeing it's chance charged at Seahand and his unconscious friend. Parmelk still had his sword on his hip so sliding it out of the sheath, while struggling, Seahand managed to stand. The dragon goes faster and its throat lit up. He ducked just in time. Seahand stood up again to find the dragon with its jaw open in front of him. He glimpsed it's throat light up again but this time there was no running. Seahand let out a yell and stabbed Parmelk's sword through the upper part of the dragon's mouth and into its brain. The dragon let out a final croak. And collapsed taking the half-elf with it. The last thing he remembered was that the dragon's breath kind of stunk.  
__________________________

He had a throbbing headache. Seahand was lying on a thin layer of cloth, that didn't do much to since the floor was made from stone but still was better than nothing. He scanned the area for the others, he found them next to the dragon. Getting up he walked over to them to see what they had looted. So far he could see Thokk collecting dragon hide, Taete having trouble collecting dragon bone, Parmelk taking some dragon blood. Probably for a potion or something.

Seahand looked at the remains of the dragon wondering what he could salvage. There were the bones, the teeth and not much else. Dragon's are rare, and an even rarer kill. Any part of the dragon would be worth a lot.

"Gather up every part of the dragon"

He said loud enough for everyone to hear,

"I'll go check on Parmelk"

Seahand walked over to the groaning cleric. The group had set up a similar cloth bed for Parmelk. They had also put a towel drenched in cold water on his head. 

"How are you feeling?"

Parmelk responded with a grunt and said,

"I got hit by a dragon's tail"

Seahand chuckled and said,

"Well get better in ten minutes. We leave here then."

 


	6. The Little Trip

They decided to set camp outside the hall.  
It was already nightfall by the time the group got out and Parmelk needed the rest after the blow he took. They all needed the rest.  
_________________________

They all woke up next morning feeling refreshed. Parmelk had recovered and Skylas had agreed to lend one of his short swords to Seahand.  Skylas didn't use them much anyway, mainly he just used crossbow bolts to stab people. 

As they were taking down the camp something caught Seahand's eye. It was a giant rat. Roughly the size of a wolf.  
Not looking away from it he walked backwards toward Skylas. 

"Skylas..."

"The rats?"

He said without looking,

"I feel their presence, there's more than one"

"What do we do?"

"Leave them be for now"

He said looking up now,

"Give them a chance. If they attack then we kill them. Simple as that"

Nodding Seahand walked off to lightly scout the area. Sure enough there was more than one rat rustling around our camp. He just hoped that there would be no trouble.  
Laughable.  
_________________________

The party finished packing up. Again Thokk carried all the equipment in his giant bag. He lifted the bag up like it weighed nothing while in reality, it was more like the weight of three men. At that moment Seahand saw two beady eyes spying. It felt uncomfortable but he said nothing and tried to shake the uncomfortable feeling of being watched.

The theory of the rats not being that friendly was confirmed about thirty minutes down the road. Skylas and Seahand were the only ones who expected danger. Well maybe Rāen too, Seahand wasn't sure.

The rats had formed a circle around the group without being noticed and no one actually knew they were there until the moment the rats attacked. 

Five giant rats suddenly jumped off a rocky ledge above them aiming straight for Skylas and Taete. Taete let out a cry of alarm as Skylas threw a bolt at one of the creatures. The bolt didn't hit home and the two barely dodged the rats. Both parties recovered quickly. The rats snarled and growled, maybe even barked as Taete and Skylas got into a ready stance. At that moment Seahand and the others made their move. They ran toward the rats who were facing the other way... Something wasn't right. These were rats who could surround an elf, the forests most dangerous hunter. Would they really turn their backs to four other obvious enemies? As the thought raced through his mind Seahand heard a faint scratch above them and the few pebbles that were disturbed hitting the ground.

"DODGE!!"

Seahand yelled at the top of his lungs. The half-dragon picked up on what was happening and rolled in the opposite direction of the half-elf but Parmelk and Thokk were too slow. Two dire rats who were even bigger than the others dropped on the unlucky two and sunk their teeth into their flesh. Both victims let out cries of agony as Thokk ripped off his rat and Parmelk's was flung away by a crossbow bolt in the head. Almost instantly they both swayed and collapsed, their faces a deadly shade of white.

"Poison!!"

Skylas yelled. Which meant that if the skin was penetrated by the dire rats they would end up like the two now on their knees beside them. A dire creature is an animal which is more powerful than the regular animals. These rats were no expectation. They were bigger, tougher and meaner than the average over-sized-murder-rat. 

Seahand dodged the dire rat that had lunged at him while he was distracted. It was fast but he was faster. Seahand whirled around using the momentum to fling the sword into the rat's side. It plunged into the creature which let out a high pitched screech as blood gushed out of the creature. It was a good throw and it was dead before the sword left its body. No matter how vile nothing deserved to suffer. 

He risked a quick glance at Skylas but there was no need to worry about him. Skylas had quickly dispatched his dire rat by stabbing a crossbow bolt in its head. It now lay twitching on the ground. Seahand heard a screech and looked up to see a rat diving at him, fangs dripping with blood, it's beady eyes fixed on him. It was too late, he hadn't noticed in time, Seahand closed my eyes hoping for less pain as possible. But the attack never landed he heard a roaring next to his ear and another screech from the rat, but this time it was a screech of pain. Seahand opened his eyes to see Parmelk finishing off the rat that he had just burnt. It saved Seahand's life but this action also made Parmelk the main target. Two rats charged at him, ignoring the Seahand and Thokk, who like Parmelk had started to recover. That was their last mistake.

Parmelk was too weak from the dire rat bite and the magic he just used to even raise his arms. It was clear that standing was already becoming a challenge to him. The rats shrieked, attacking as one from both sides. But Thokk and Seahand were ready. Thokk was the first one to land his blow. The gigantic hammer of his crushing the rat and splattering Parmelk with rat guts. Parmelk surprised and disgusted gagged and turned Seahand's way, it would have been a good idea to wait until Seahand had finished off his rat too. Seahand picked up the sword that he had thrown and slashed at the rat, cleanly slicing its neck off and masterfully splattering the other side of Parmelk head to toe, with rat guts.  
He was not happy.


	7. Thunder

Ulmo was hiding in the bushes when he saw the strange party of people finally walk into the ambush ring. He silently signalled to the rats to attack. He waited about a minute before releasing the two dire rats next to him. After they attacked they would be joined by their companions who were hiding down below.

Ulmo was a halfling. He was basically half a normal man's height and in his case probably half the brains too. Ulmo was a hoarder. He took everything that seemed even remotely valuable and kept it with him at all times, resulting in him carrying a bag two times his weight all the time. He admitted to himself he may have a problem.

Suddenly he heard yelling and screeching. He smiled to himself. The rats were doing their job, their success would reward him with more things to carry... And maybe sell. He really did have a problem. Ulmo peaked from his hiding spot sneering at the thought of those travellers. They must have been so scared they had run away. Or maybe they were dead. Probably dead. Ulmo's eyes widened as he saw a sight he had never seen before. All his rat-minions were dead. Even the one with the really sharp tooth. Ulmo panicked, he didn't have a backup plan. He usually didn't need one. He looked into his sack of valuables and took out a dagger, which was more of a sword to him. This was it. He slid down the hill the sack on his back heavily weighing him down. At the bottom, he straightened his back and took his dagger in one hand and put the sack on his back. Taking a deep breath Ulmo starts running, faster than he ever had. He breaks free of the trees and went straight towards the skinny guy with not much armour. He straightened his arm so it was pointing at the skinny one and...

_______________________

"Little man"

Thokk exclaimed as he pointed. Sure enough, there was a halfling running toward Skylas with a dagger and an oversized bag. They all watched him straighten his arm and stab toward Skylas. The greatest problem was that the dagger wasn't a lance and the halfling was, in fact, stabbing at Skylas's leg. Skylas, who was just thinking to himself how interesting this little moment was, realized the halfling was almost at the point where he could stab Skylas. Being the graceful elf that he was Skylas hit the halfling on the head with his crossbow. The halfling crumpled and lay on the ground unconscious.

"Well, that was interesting."

Said Seahand.

The party surrounded the unconscious halfling. They noticed the giant bag he was carrying. It became apparent that the halfling was a hoarder and most of the items were either useless or trinkets. Something caught Seahand's eye. It was a steel gleam that seemed to shine among the other objects.

He reached into the sack and gripped the steel object, it fitted perfectly into his palm. He pulled at it and with a satisfying noise, a longsword was pulled loose from the useless trinkets. It was a magnificent weapon. Sharp enough to cut anything and perfectly balanced.

"Looks like you found a replacement"

Seahand turned to Skylas and replied,

"It seems so."  
_____________________________

After rummaging through the sack some more they found some gold and a few enchanted apparels. It seemed that the halfling had robbed someone who knew his enchantments because the sword also seemed to be affected by a magical power that the group could not figure out.

Parmelk went to a nearby stream to clean the rat entrails off his robe. As much as he tried you could still faintly see the stains if you knew what to look for.

Parmelk worked out that the sickness that was affecting him and Thokk was called "Filth Fever" which was a fever commonly carried by rats. Luckily it was easy to cure and Parmelk managed to cure him and Thokk with some of the herbs he carried in his multiple pouches.

"That was exciting wasn't it?"

They all faced Taete who was grinning like an idiot. Chuckling the party started walking down the path again. Seahand, Skylas, and Rāen kept a lookout while travelling. Skylas frequently dashing in and out of the forest.

"Where are you from?"

Seahand turned, it was Skylas asking the question.

"Different continent. A few years ride from here."

"That's a long way."

Said Parmelk. Seahand nodded and continued,

"To be exact I come from the continent "Kuseth". But I don't know particular details. Like what village or town maybe city."

"A mystery man eh?"

Taete said with a smile. Seahand smiled and said.

"I guess I am"

There was silence for a few seconds until Rāen broke it.

"Up ahead. People."

Everyone looked ahead and sure enough, there were a dozen guards walking towards them. The guards stopped in the middle of the street and the one in front held up his hand.

"Halt in the name of his Highness, King Tychelos Baerryl."

Tychelos Baerryl was the king of this continent. He was known for his riches and his unique kingdom that was surrounded by water, meaning you could only get in through the one drawbridge that entered directly into the main street of the city. This did mean he couldn't retreat but the castle's walls were rumoured to be unbreakable. And that particular kingdom's guards had just stopped the merry band.

"Hello, men what can we do for you today?"

Skylas asked in a friendly tone. The man who seemed to be a commander of sorts replied,

"We are looking for a thief. A halfling, using dire rats to do his bidding. Stole a sword and an amulet from the king's trophy room."

"Wha-the king has a trophy room?"

Taete said hurriedly. Noticing Taete's odd question the commander narrowed his eyes.

"Would you gentlemen mind getting searched?"

Seahand was reaching for his new longsword when Skylas walked up to the guard and said,

"Sorry for my friend here"

Patting Taete on the back,

"He has tongue-swolation a serious curse. If you touch his skin, the curse passes on to you!"

He ended the sentence with a loud whisper.

"Should he not be burned?"

One of the soldiers piped up.

"No need to trouble yourselves"

Said Skylas smoothly,

"We were just on our way to give him to a healer as a test subject."

Low ranked soldiers were the kind of people who thought every sickness was contagious. It was no trouble to get past these men.

"Carry-along men. I hope you get that dwarf to the healer soon."

Taete was about to argue that he was, in fact, a gnome but a pinch in the side from Skylas quickly shut him up.

"We will be on our way then"

Said Skylas with a polite smile. After getting out of earshot Taete growled at Skylas.

"Next time  _you_  be the diseased patient!"  
__________________________

The party kept moving after their run-in with the guards. Looking at the map that Thokk was carrying it was clear that they were going in the right direction to get to Riverbend. The trip there was uneventful and as soon as they got to the tavern Seahand found himself collapsing into his bed. The trip had finally caught up with him. He needed his rest.

When he woke up the next morning Seahand found that everyone was awake already and had gone downstairs for breakfast. As he trundled down the stairs he was greeted by Taete.

"Got enough sleep?"

He asked teasingly. Smiling Seahand replied,

"It has been a long few days. I needed my rest."

"We all did"

Said Skylas looking up from his hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs with a load of bread.

"Have any more of that?"

"Maybe"

He replied with another mouthful of food,

"I think Thokk might have gotten to it though"

With a terrified look on his face, Seahand rushed into the kitchen as the laughter of the rest followed him.  
__________________________

Managing to scavenge some food that Thokk hadn't found Seahand made his way back to the kitchen where everyone was still sitting.

"Found something?"

Parmelk asks grinning. Smiling himself Seahand flicked a grape at him.

"What's on the menu today?"

Seahand asks before stuffing his face with beautifully cooked bacon.

"Well, there's bacon as you can see, eggs, lettuce.."

Taete went on and on about the food served until Seahand finally said,

"I mean 'what are we doing today'."

"Oh"

Taete says, hurt that he was interrupted,

"In that case, we are first going to find the Warden. We need to get that reward."

"Try haggle"

They all looked at Thokk as he spoke. Shrugging he continued with,

"We kill dragon, We deserve more."

Facing everyone else again Taete nods and said,

"Very true. We will try to haggle, with any luck the Jarl of this town is rich enough to give us a fair amount."

Jarls are the rulers of big towns like Riverbend. Villages have Elders, Towns have Jarls, Cities have Dukes and at the top of this food chain sits the King. In this case, the king would be Tychellos Baerryl.

"We should also see what we can get for the dragon parts"

Parmelk said leaning forward. Nodding Taete replied.

"Good idea. Then it's settled?"

He was answered by nods.

"Right let's go then."

________________________________

The group soon found out the warden had his own headquarters in the town, seeing as it was likely that he would be there they made their way across town to the building. It was late morning and the town was very busy. This time no one got dragged into an alleyway.

They got to the Warden's quarters in roughly twenty minutes. It was a proud building, single storey but made from polished wood. It had the word "Warden" carved into the door.

The party entered the building. The ten-foot tall Thokk had to lean over to get inside. The warden was sitting behind his desk in the middle of the one-room building. Two guards stood watch.

"Ehem"

Skylas cleared his throat causing the warden to look up in surprise. Apparently, he had not noticed the party's presence.

"Ah! Mr Baxter, Mr Holly! I am very glad you have returned from your journey. If you don't mind me asking... Is the Kolbold hall cleared?"

In response, Thokk stepped forward emptying the sack with the heads on the floor. The warden made a face as each head hit the floor.

"I believe this is more than enough proof that we have indeed 'cleaned out' the Kobold hall."

Said Skylas,

"Our reward?"

The warden nodded and said,

"Of course I would be glad to"

handing Skylas a pouch.

"Thirty gold just as promised"

Skylas jerked his head up.

"Thirty gold?"

He said coldly. To understand Skylas's sudden change of mood, thirty gold is the equivalent of what a fisherman could get in a month. And that would be divided into six making it less thab a fisherman's weekly wage.

"Is there a problem?"

The warden asked,

"I'm terribly sorry if that wasn't the amount you hoped but our town couldn't possibly give you any higher amount..."

"This is one of the richest towns in Kryteria!!"

Taete said outraged. The Warden furrowed his brow and said,

"I'm sorry but there's really nothing I can do..."

The warden thought because he had two guards he would be safe, he thought his two guards were better equipped than the party, he thought that the group wouldn't dare make a move against the towns warden. He _Thought._

All the warden saw was a blur as Seahand pulled his sword out and kicked the desk with such force it pushed the warden backwards against the wall, trapping him. The two guards did try to stop Seahand of course but their strength did not overpower the party as the warden expected. They didn't even manage to overpower Thokk.

With surprising speed, the giant stepped forward arms pulled back and as the guards turned there head towards him Thokk shot his hands forward knocking the guards with such force that they were taken off their feet and hit the wall with a satisfying _smack_.

The warden was trying to wriggle out but that stopped as soon as Seahand put the tip of his sword against the warden's throat.

"Please don't kill me"

The warden said quietly. Seahand looked down at him coldly and said,

"We walk to a hall infested by kobolds, risk our lives, fight a dragon and you give us one-hundred gold?"

"You've attacked a warden, I report to a Jarl. A _Jarl._ What do you think you're doing??"

"I believe"

Skylas said with a coldness matching Seahand,

"We're asking for a raise."

"And what are you going to do if I refuse?"

Replied the warden with a scowl,

"Then..."

Said Seahand resting the tip of his sword against the warden's throat,

"We might have to inform the Jarl that his warden had a little accident."

The scowl slid away from the wardens face faster than Seahand thought possible.

"F-fine. How much?"

Said the warden. His previous confidence and arrogance were all gone. Skylas looked around at the group then back to the warden and said,

"One-Thousand gold."

"That's preposterous!! I couldn't afford that even if I wanted to!"

Skylas tipped his head considering what the warden had said.

"Fine. Six-Hundred."

"I can do four-hundred."

They all looked at the warden. It was clear that this was the best he could offer.

"Of course."

Said Skylas,

"Pleasure doing business with you."

And with that, they collected their gold and walked out of the headquarters.

__________________________________________________

"Was that wise?"

Taete asks as they walk around town.

"It was necessary."

Parmelk replied,

"He was being unreasonable, we acted out of fairness to us."

Taete nodded and said to Parmelk.

"I was asking more about the fact that we attacked two guards and a warden. That could be punished by death, in some places anyway."

"I think the warden will be wise enough not to quarrel with us."

Parmelk said confidently,

"He won't talk."

"I agree"

said Skylas. They were walking through one of the many streets in this town when something caught Seahand's eye. It was a flash of light just on top of the hill that the town was next to.

"Did you see-"

"The light? Yes."

Skylas said looking at the hill.

"Want to have a look?"

Skylas said grinning. Seahand replied with a smile of his own.

"Of course"

_________________________________

It took them ten minutes to get to the place on the hill. They saw the spark two more times as they walked up the hill, including the rest of the party. As they neared it they could see the place was a sturdy looking wooden house. Going even closer they also noticed a sign that said

" _Verne's Smithing_ "

  
A Smith was a being who made weapons, armour and all sorts of equipment made from any sort of material. A town or village would usually have one or two. A city would have several.  
Pushing the wooden doors the party walked into the medium-sized building. Behind the doors was a two storey building. Upstairs looked like the private quarters while the ground floor was a shop-front. Skylas stepped forward.

"Hello?"

"Just wait for a second you bastard"

Taken aback all Skylas could say was

"Okay?"

Before long an old man walked up from behind the counter.

"What do you want?"

The man, while being old, did not look weak. He was a bulky man, thanks to the years of smithing. He was bald but had a beard that even a dwarf would be envious of. He had a scar across his left cheek.

"We saw flashes of light from Riverbend"

Said Seahand.

"We were curious and came to have a look"

The man grunted and said,

"Fair enough. Most of the townsfolk just ignore what I do. But by your appearance..."

He looked up at Thokk.

"...I don't think you're from around here."

"You're right about that"

Taete said with a smile.

"So what was that flash we saw?"

The man turned back to Skylas who had asked the question.

"Well, first I'll introduce myself."

He then turned to everyone and said,

"I'm Verne. Owner of this shop, I make swords, shields, armour, You name it!"

He then grinned and said,

"You strike me as the kind of people who might actually be interested in the things I make."

Skylas politely smiled at Verne and introduced the group. After he had finished Verne, still smiling, said,

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you all"

Looking at Skylas who was about to ask about the flash again Verne chuckled and said,

"Follow me I'll show you what the flash was"

Satisfied Skylas smiled and followed Verne out back, followed by the rest of the group. Verne led the group to a field that was behind the shop. It was a decent sized field with training dummies put up around the place. All of them had different marks, some scorched, some cut and some with arrows sticking out of them. They looked back at Verne who had walked over to a barrel with a crossbow on it. He picked it up and carefully handed it to Skylas.

"Shoot it at the dummies over there"

He said pointing at a constellation of scorched dummies. Skylas swiftly loaded one of the bolts that he had in the holder at his hip. Confused what Verne wanted since one bolt couldn't possibly take out all the dummies he calmly aimed at the one in the middle and with extreme precision pulled the trigger. There was a flash of purple lightning as the bolt flew out of the crossbow. Time seemed to go in slow motion as they all watched the sparkling bolt fly through the air in a straight and true line and hit the middle dummy. As it hit its mark the bolt seemed to crackle and before anyone knew it the dummies were crackling with sparks while the dummy the bolt hit fell to the ground with a glowing hole in its chest. They all looked back at Verne who had the biggest smile on his face.

"So"

He said

"What do you think?"


End file.
